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Tudjman Says European Status Conditions are 'Humiliating'
By Mark Heinrich
His complaint reflected dismay among Croats, including
opposition moderates, at a Council of Europe decision this month
to put Croatia's membership application on indefinite hold.
The 39-nation organisation, in which the 15-state European
Union is a powerful bloc, exists to promote democracy and human
rights in Europe and it accused the Zagreb government last week
of authoritarian behaviour.
Council members cited concern about Croatia's commitment to
improve a flawed democracy and to comply fully with aspects of
the Yugoslav peace accords, including the reintegration of
Bosnia where Zagreb backed separatist Croats during the war.
"We face criticism about Croatian democracy from those who
have been accepted by the Council of Europe as members -- all
those democratic countries like Albania, Romania, Moldova and
Russia, (which used) tanks against parliament or Chechnya,"
Tudjman said. We are ready for constructive dialogue and cooperation,
but not for humiliating conditions," he told a special session
of his bipartisan Presidential Council, meeting to consider
Croatia's international position.
"There are misunderstandings and one-sided interpretations
of the council's decision. We are faced with intentions to
include Croatia in a framework of Balkan integration."
Tudjman said Croatia, since seceding from Yugoslavia, had
evolved into a "first-rate" regional power whose military
victories over Bosnian Serbs were crucial to the Dayton peace
treaty. But this was not being recognised as Croatia deserved.
"Croatia is respected in the world's military and financial
circles, in NATO's headquarters...We have achieved partnership
with the United States, the major world power," he said.
"But in Europe, everything is being done, in all areas, to
place Croatia in the ex-Yugoslav, Balkan region."
He added: "We favour normalisation with all states in the
region of former Yugoslavia and in Balkan-southeastern Europe.
But we (also) favour integration with Central Europe.
Historically and culturally, we belong to the same Central
Europe to which Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech
Republic and Poland belong."
Tudjman, also an historian, was returning to one of his
cherished themes -- a distinction between Croatia's pre-1918
history within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and that of Bosnia
and Serbia-led Yugoslavia under Turkish Ottoman rule.
Roman Catholic Croatia "belongs to the Western circle of
civilisation, not the East European, Orthodox circle," he said.
"This issue is of vital importance to Croatia's future."
Of the former Yugoslav republics, Slovenia and Macedonia,
which seceded with little or no violence, are members of the
Council of Europe while Bosnia has special guest status. Rump
Yugoslavia -- Serbia and Montenegro -- has no status there.
^Reuters@ |
ZAGREB, May 25 (Reuters) - President Franjo Tudjman lashed out on Saturday at ``humiliating conditions'' set for Croatia's admission to the institutions of Western Europe.
The nationalist leader said Western Europe was improperly
lumping Croatia within an unstable "Balkan or ex-Yugoslav"
framework of states to be held at arm's length.
Berserkistan, May 16 · Europe's Rejection of Croatia Dismays Croats Seeking Democracy
Berserkistan, May 14 · Civil Liberties Crackdown Delays Croatia's European Plans
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